It’s time to get rid of tampons and pads!

Companies producing pads and tampons keep finding new projects, formulas, ingredients, looks and all that stuff just women can find periods easier and more pleasant to go through. Starting from thinner and thinner pads ending on ways to make sure that nobody knows we’re on our period – that’s why they make all those cute little bags, boxes and cases. For a while now I’ve been wondering, why just a few women pay attention to a health aspect in this?

I’ve been wanting to talk about this for a long time now but I wasn’t sure how to do it. I decided to tell you a few facts first because I made my decision based on them. I don’t want this post to be too serious but I want it to contain specific information, not only my opinions.

Recently I read this info that companies producing the most common pads and tampons (like Always) make over 700 million dollars per year! A lot of money, huh?

The main ingredient in pads and tampons is rayon which is made from cellulose fibers. To do that they use all kinds of chemicals like carbon disulphide, sulfuric acid or and caustic soda. Tampons and pads are also bleached in chlorine which results in a production of doxine which is a highly toxic chemical not only for people (it causes, for example, breast and ovarian cancers) but also for the environment because imagine how much trash women make all over the world from pads and tampons only. Also, pads have a lot of plastic in them (BPA, BPS) which is responsible for lack of air flow which can cause infections. Cotton is sprayed with pesticides so these products contain pesticides as well. Tampons are known to leave fiber behind and that can cause urinary tract infections or even cervical cancer, also all the chemicals go inside our skin. What’s interesting, studies show that skin on our armpits and on genital area absorb 100% of what we put on it…

I don’t know, it doesn’t sound too appealing to me and even though before I used to use those thin Always pads that convert blood into gel, now I facepalm and really hope that it didn’t cause too much harm for in my body.

There are some other products that you can try like, for example, pads made from organic cotton. I used them for a little bit but, to be honest, they were annoying. I didn’t like pads for a long time because, let’s face it, they’re not too comfortable and when it’s hot they feel like diapers… poor April.

A different option is a… menstrual cup! And this is the thing I want to tell you about today because I love it and I’m sure some of you will be interested :).

Menstrual Cups are usually (I don’t know if always because I probably don’t know all the companies making them) from medical silicone which is latex free and doesn’t have any nitrosamine so allergic reactions are extremely rare, they also don’t have any chemicals that would harm human and also the risk of TSS (toxic shock syndrome) is much, much decreased. Its task is to stay inside and collect blood. It should be emptied and rinsed every 12 hours so it’s a very easy and fast thing. It’s awesome that it can last for even 10 years if you care of it well (store it in right conditions) but even if you want to replace it every year it’s still cheaper than buying pads. Also, one cup can collect up to 29 ml and, believe me or not, most women don’t have that much blood.

How does it work? Cups are flexible so you just need to fold them (two ways of folding in the photos below), insert, twist a little to make sure there’s a right seal and that’s it :). You’re free for 12 hours. You can find cups in two sizes, the most common naming is either for women who gave birth or for the ones who haven’t. The size isn’t about your vaginal opening, it’s about the size inside and they’re good for girls who are virgins too.

I need to tell you that when I heard about it for the first time I thought whaaaat, noooo, it’s not for me! I stopped thinking about it for a while and used organic cotton pads but I wasn’t satisfied and then this idea about the cup came back to me again, next I saw it in a store and I bought it. And I don’t regret! At the beginning I had some issues because you need to learn how to use them, it’d leak a little bit and at the first time I had serious problems with taking it out… It seemed to me as if it would stay there forever haha But it worked! And after a few tries a found a way to insert it the way that everything is fine. And I love the cup not only because of the reasons I talked about above but it’s also very comfortable – I don’t feel it at all! I can do whatever I want, it doesn’t change its position, doesn’t leak, doesn’t cause any discomfort or anything else. A lot of people say that after they started using cups they stopped having period cramps or they were much less painful. And this makes sense because they stopped using products full of chemicals that harm them.

Why am I talking about it? Because I wish I knew about it earlier. I’m sure that among all of you there are some girls who will find it interesting, will try and will be amazed. Also, I think it’s an interesting thing, I like talking about “taboo” subjects and raise awareness about things that people unfortunately don’t talk about.

If any of you is interested I use Diva Cup and no, this post isn’t sponsored.

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Hey! My name is Agnieszka, I'm 25 years old and originally I come from Warsaw, Poland. My journey as an au pair in the state of Georgia, USA, began on Nov 4th, 2013. Right now I'm a happy wife of the best man in the world and a mom for his now 7-year-old daughter. On March 25th this year I gave birth to our second daughter! I'm still in the same place I came at first, I pole dance and we're raw vegans. I never thought that so many things in my life would change after my arrival... This blog is a place where you can follow my story from the very beginning!
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